


everyday magic

by misura



Category: Saving Face (2004)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-15
Updated: 2018-11-15
Packaged: 2019-08-25 13:55:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16662211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/misura/pseuds/misura
Summary: Wil does not believe in magic."Ma," she says, in a tone that makes Hwei-Lan want to ask,'is that how you talk to your patients and co-workers?', because it certainly isn't any kind of tone for a daughter to use with her mother. "Magic isn't real. It's just superstition. I mean, please."





	everyday magic

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LeBibish](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeBibish/gifts).



> I loved your suggestion to slip some urban magic into this universe, so here's a small treat which I hope you'll like

Wil does not believe in magic.

"Ma," she says, in a tone that makes Hwei-Lan want to ask, _'is that how you talk to your patients and co-workers?'_ , because it certainly isn't any kind of tone for a daughter to use with her mother. "Magic isn't real. It's just superstition. I mean, please."

Hwei-Lan prays to the gods for patience. She should, would, could have seen this coming, she thinks. Episode 173 of **Peach Blossoms in Autumn** : _A's mother is shocked to discover A does not believe in magic. An argument ensues, which ends with A_ \- but of course she doesn't know how it all turns out because she's been a good, dutiful mother, putting her daughter's happiness before everything else, and now here they are, the future uncertain, and nobody at all happy.

She wonders, _how does anyone stand this much uncertainty?_. Hwei-Lan has always had her tapes. They have never let her be surprised or disappointed by anything at all. Everything that has ever happened to her, she has seen happen to someone else already - as well as a great many things that never did happen to her, because the gods are cruel and kind in equal measures.

For example, she tries not to think, they have given her a daughter who is gay and does not believe in magic.

"What about Vivian?" Hwei-Lan asks, because she can be cunning, like the fox.

"What _about_ Vivian?" Wil says. "Vivian doesn't say she has magic."

Hwei-Lan knows that this is not true. She and Vivian have talked about it, one night, after one of Vivian's shows: Vivian had taken her drinking somewhere, and Hwei-Lan had agreed, thinking, _'well, as I may very well marry a handsome young man, who is many years younger than I am, surely there is no reason not to go and have drinks with my future daughter-in-law, who is also many years younger than I am'_.

One thing led to another: she had asked Vivian, _'are you a sex demoness who has tempted my good and dutiful daughter to stray from the path of righteousness with your wiles and the secrets of your body?'_ and Vivian had laughed a little and said, _'no, Auntie'_ , and Hwei-Lan had thought to herself that of course, one could not believe the words of sex demonesses but then, if one cannot trust one's future daughter-in-law, what reason is there to remain in this world?

So there is that. And here is Wil, stubborn as an ox.

Hwei-Lan says, "Well, it cannot do any harm to be careful, can it? There are other things I can do with my time." She thinks that she may go and look for a job. Apartments are not so cheap, and she will not be one of those women who are always relying on other, younger people to take care of them.

"But you love your soaps," says Wil.

"What kind of mother would love soaps more than her own daughter?" Hwei-Lan says. It is a sacrifice, true: she can admit as much to herself. Not to Wil, though.

Perhaps she'll talk about it with Jay, who is such a nice young man (and still single, too, which is such a shame, though of course Hwei-Lan would never judge his parents for appearing to neglect their son so shamefully).

Wil sighs. "I still think you're being silly."

Hwei-Lan thinks, _well, then you should keep that thought where it belongs: in your head. Did I raise you to blurt out any thought that pops into your head? I do not think that I raised my only daughter to be as careless as that, and besides, what is the good of always telling people what you think, when it will not change what_ they _think?_.

She is not her daughter. She has been raised by a loving mother, who made many great sacrifices for her.

Hwei-Lan asks, "Have you eaten today?" because this is a question any mother may ask and expect to be answered with some semblance of truthfulness.

"I got something from the vending machine at the hospital," Wil says, allowing the conversation to turn, to move away to calmer waters.

Hwei-Lan waits.

Wil grimaces. "Well, actually, Viv got it for me. I can never find the right kind of change."

"Ah," sayd Hwei-Lan. She feels a great calmth settle over her. It is a fine magic, she thinks. A tidy, small magic, to ease one's way through the world. "I see, I see. Yes."

"Ma! Having change for a vending machine is not a magical power! It's just - " Wil gestures.

Hwei-Lan recognizes the movement from Vivian's show. Modern dance is strange, she thinks. There's not a lot of money in it, and the hours are very long. "Of course, of course."

Wil sighs.

Hwei-Lan experiences an upwelling of maternal affection. It must be sad, she thinks, to be as accomplished as her daughter and not have discovered one's magic yet. No wonder Wil refuses to see what is so plain. _What a bad mother I am,_ Hwei-Lan thinks, _to insist on bringing up such a painful subject. No wonder my daughter turned out to be gay. I deserve it, to have had such a thing happen to me. What undeserved good fortune have I had, to receive the gift of Vivian as my future daughter-in-law._

She takes Wil's hands into her own. They are good, strong hands. The nails are short and clean. A doctor's hands. "You musn't let this make you unhappy. You have Vivian, yes? Vivian makes you happy."

Wil squeezes her hands, as if Hwei-Lan is the one needing to be reassured and soothed. "I'm happy, Ma. Vivian makes me happy. And you - you, too."

Hwei-Lan squeezes back. "Good," she says. "Will you come to dinner tonight? Little Yu will be there. Bring Vivian."

"Of course," Wil says, and for a moment, Hwei-Lan feels a little bit sorry for Little Yu, who loves her (at least today) and wants to make her happy (at least today) and would very much like to marry her (but will he still want the same tomorrow?) but then, it is only natural for a daughter and a future daughter-in-law to take an interest in their mother's happiness and wish to make sure of the intentions and seriousness any prospective bridegrooms.

And anyway, what mother would put her own happiness above that of her daughter?


End file.
